Fantasy Thunder Chapter Two: Beta
By Blue Dragon
Beta the great. Number two in this complex maze. His arrogance will kill him.
"Who the. . . ?" Cloud stared in awe at the warrior before him. Who could attack him without knowing, and furthermore stop the engine of a boat with his fist? This wasn't like anyone he had fought before, save Sephiroth.
"I told you, I am Alpha. I come from a place dedicated to good, the eradication of fiends like you, and eventually that scoundrel Oren himself. You are but one of the flies. And you even teamed up with Sephiroth!"
"What are you talking about?", exclaimed Tifa, moving from her stationary position. She stood up and strapped on the Premium Hearts. This guy didn't seem like he was in the mood for more talking.
"Your Sephiroth's little girl, right?"
"You don't seem to get it!" Cloud clutched the hilt of his sword until his knuckles began to crack.
"Sephiroth is dead, and we killed him. Not only that, but we hate him! Why would we ally with him, after all he has taken, and what he tried to take?"
"FILTHY LIARS! YOU LIE EVEN IN THE FACE OF DEATH" Alpha simply roared in anger. With one swoop, he leaned back and did a punch at Mach 2 straight for Cloud, a sneer on his face.
Cloud felt the impact crush his chest as he felt the power of the blow. He thought one thing in his mind:
No one can be that strong!
Tifa, having fought with Cloud much before, didn't contemplate his condition. Her love had withstood much more than that. Instead, she did a punch of her own, rushing her fists in three solid blows to make contact with Alpha's exposed side. Her expected pleasure turned to agony when she felt her bones shatter on contact, with ribs harder than titanium alloy.
"Ahhh!", she screamed, half in surprise, half in pain.
"You expect to even dent a man that can punch two times faster than the speed of sound?"
Seemingly with his mind the bearer of the arrogant voice knocked Tifa into oblivion, a.k.a. the broken boards next to Cloud.
"Die!"
With a sharp descent of his blade, Alpha sent a knife into Cloud's chest, as Tifa watched in a state of absolute shock.
A normal woman would have become overwhelmed. But Tifa was battle hardened. Because of that, she knew that Mr. Mach punch had made a grave mistake.
***
"Friend of Kuja?", the queen repeated, half in awe, half in depression at being struck with that name again.
"Dagger?" Zidane went down on one knee to see her sitting as if weakened on the carpet.
"How can anyone say that? After all the pain, the turmoil? What have we done that would give us such a title, to say we are friends to the man who. . . " She stopped speaking, not able to think about such a nasty picture. She felt the nightmares returning.
"Get me a medic!" yelled the king. The soldiers guarding the door were hesitant to obey, but when the sight of their fellow soldier greeted them, they immediately complied. Yet another great perception of Alexandrians, the soldiers were light and easy to carry. The captain put her comrade on her soldier and tread of to the medic in the central castle.
"Dagger, can you fight?"
The young female slowly shook her head.
"What if he's out there? I'll freeze. . . "
"That guy clearly stated he was against Kuja, even if he thinks he's with us."
"Please, just give me time. Don't make me. . . "
"It's okay, I'll go. And I'll be back, so don't worry. I have to fight with the soldiers, so stay safe, okay?"
"I can do that."
Zidane stood up and opened the golden safe right by the window. Out he pulled the Ultima Weapon, branded by experts as the strongest weapon of its kind.
"I will be back!"
With that, Zidane jumped out of the window, somersaulted, and landed on the grass with a dozen soldiers, the Pluto Knights, and surprisingly, the great General Beatrix. Thirty yards away was the seventy-foot portal, and in front of it, a dark-skinned man with eyes of pure white, matching flowing clothes and boots, and cold ice-blue hair. The one the soldier called "Beta".
"Beatrix?!", asked Zidane, surprised that the general wasn't patrolling the outside of the city in her usual rounds.
"Some force moved me to come here. He said he was with the movement of the boat."
"The movement of the boat. . . ?"
"I don't know either, but if he directed me to this, then he must be on my side"
"What are you morons jabbering about?" asked Beta, arms crossed over chest. "If you're talking about some force, then It must be Oren, but enough about that. You and you're evil friends have plagued this world long enough. Prepare for your end!"
With that, the stranger lifted a hand and sent the dozen soldiers and four Pluto Knights into the wall, making sickening thuds and large cracks.
The stronger ones of the group, which were the other five Knights, Steiner, Beatrix, and Zidane withstood the blow and stood in battle positions.
"State your business at the castle!" exclaimed Steiner in his booming and usually proud voice.
"We are NOT in alliance with Kuja, why do you accuse us?" added Zidane a little more reasonably.
"Allow me to explain, I am from the squadron of Pyros himself to exterminate you all for all you took, and your friends as well, there are others that. . . "
"Is the intruder thinking of ceasing a report?" asked Zidane, half sarcastically.
"The INTRUDER is pondering why he's explaining himself to the enemy!" Beta roared.
"The INTRUDER is going to blow you and your evil squadron out of this world, Spira!"
"Spira?" Beatrix spoke up. "We know not of a Spira. This is Gaia"
"Spira, Gaia, what's the difference? The destruction of any of the two is fine with me. Now die!"
With that Beta reeled back a fist and pummeled the remaining defenders into the walls with yet another more powerful sonic wave.
***
"Yuna!" Tidus broke the barrier of water once again, and saw that the one he had longed to hold had passed out at the sight of him.
"Yuna." Tidus climbed onto the dock and pulled Yuna into his arms. She was just the way he had left her. And she had even been whistling for him to come back.
What a girl! Thought Tidus.
He padded clumsily along the dock, getting used to walking again. Night was falling in the Luca stadium, and everyone was out.
"Mister Tidus?"
"Huh?" Tidus turned around to see a little girl holding a familiar sword.
"I found this, is it yours?"
"Why yes! Thanks a lot kid! How'd ya know?"
"My mommy said you were a really good man, and that you found a sword like this and used it to beat Sin!"
"I appreciate it!" Tidus said, temporarily lowering Yuna to ruffle the girl's hair.
The stadium was pretty much deserted, so by the time Tidus got the gate with only two Luca soldiers, he wondered where he was going to go.
Tidus walked up to one of the soldiers and tapped the leather shoulder- guard he wore.
"Excuse me, but could you get an airship here?"
Tidus knew other airships were in production, but there was only one machina airship currently in use. That of his friends.
"Sir Tidus! Lady Yuna!" The guard immediately bowed.
"P-please, no need to bow. Could I just get the airship over here, please?"
"Yessir! They just happen to be docked at the Rin Travel Agency of the Mi'hen Highroad! Just take my chocobo"
"Thank you! You're a nice guy"
"No sir, think nothing of it. Anything for the savior of Spira"
With that, Tidus rode off on the chocobo with Yuna propped up on the back, contemplating how nice everyone was being, and the pleasure of riding in the warm night air through grasslands long deserted by the fiends that once plagued it, having the love of his life with him.
Tidus lifted his head into the air, and with a howl yelled:
"THANK YOU, BAHAMUT-KID! YOU HELPED MY MORE THAN ANYONE!"
Unfortunately this startled the chocobo, and in its carelessness it ran beak-first into a tree.
***
"Oh no!", yelled Nida.
Rinoa suddenly sat bolt upright, looking around as if nothing happened.
"Is Squall here yet?"
"Rinoa!" Squall launched himself around Rinoa, sobbing uncontrollably.
"I love you, I love you! I admitted it! Just don't punish me anymore!"
The tough commander of garden was now simply going to pieces. Did this make RINOA the most powerful of all?
"Rinoa, I can't believe you're awake! What happened?", inquired Irvine, immediately wide-eyed and disregarding Squall's rude comment about him.
"Was I asleep?" Rinoa asked, still oblivious to her previous condition.
"This must be a medical miracle. Not even Edea recovered this fast!", stated Dr. Kadowaki.
"What are you all talking about?!" Rinoa half asked, half exclaimed, while patting the back of poor Squall.
"Garden, this is Nida, pilot of Balamb Garden. We are being approached by an unidentified formation. We may be experiencing turbulence, so please find stable ground.
"Here it comes!" yelled Irvine.
The descending wave of blue made contact, the speed of its approach speeding up exponentially.
FWOOOMM!!
There was surprisingly no shaking, whatsoever, but a thud as the opening in the air disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared, and set the Balamb Garden flat on its bottom, in a green field atop a large cliff. To the left was a city of some sort that seemed medieval. A large castle rose in the middle of the city, and it seemed to rock slightly and temporarily glow blue. A mild concussion followed.
"Where are we?" asked Irvine after an awkward silence.
"Squall, get up!" Nida commanded, bringing Squall out of his great unison.
"What is it?" Rinoa stood up as well, smoothening her black and blue outfit.
"Squall, could go down there and see how people are reacting? Calm everyone down or we might end up in chaos"
"Right. Rinoa, stay close" she gladly complied as she followed Squall down the elevator and Nida, Dr. Kadowaki and Irvine began to ponder the situation.
"Students, please calm down!" Quistis tried to calm the junior and upper classmen who were in a loud commotion with each other discussing the past events. The occupants of the classroom were quiet, but Quistis knew it wouldn't last. What was that flash of blue and that sudden appearance in a new location?
Squall quickly burst into the room.
"Is everything alright?" he asked. It was plain that Quistis had everything under control.
"Students, it is vital that you remain calm" Squall pointed towards one student who seemed responsible "Echo, you watch the class. Quistis will be out shortly"
Quistis inquisitively turned her majestic azure eyes to meet Squall.
What is happening? She mouthed.
I don't know myself. Squall mouthed in response. The student named Echo stood up and took his place at the front of the class, as Quistis and Squall walked out, Rinoa waiting at the door.
"Quistis, could you find Selphie and meet back at the bridge? Rinoa and I will get Zell and try and figure out some sort of exploration plan."
"Yes sir!" Quistis gave a salute and immediately strode down to the elevator, voice-commanding it to move to the first floor.
Why does she still wear that uniform? Squall thought to himself.
***
Alpha's blade embedded itself in Cloud's chest, as his eyes widened at this newfound pain.
"You're dead now!" Alpha yelled in victory.
"His."
"What!?" Alpha looked towards Tifa.
"His heart is on the left, you moron!" yelled Tifa with renewed vigor.
Before the warrior had a chance to respond, a large orange figure pounced, pinning him to the ground and slightly tearing his ear.
Alpha immediately pushed the beast that was Nanaki, or Red XIII off of his chest and felt his ear.
"My perfect ear! HOW COULD YOU HURT SOMETHING SO BEAUTIFUL!?"
Amazingly, Alpha began to shed tears.
"You monsters! You killed my looks! You will pay!" With that, the warrior that was thought to be a worthy opponent disappeared in a flash leaving warm air in his wake, as the party of three stared wide-eyed.
"Did he just leave because he thought his looks were in jepordy!?", asked Cloud.
"Cloud! I thought I saw that that person had impaled you. Why is it that you speak as though unhurt?" asked Red, not even greeting his friend.
"Oh. Hello to you too Red."
"..My apologies. Cloud, Tifa, how have you been? I was on my raft awaiting your arrival. I noticed you were getting pummeled, so I waited till the greatest element of all presented itself."
"Thanks a lot Red" said Tifa. "You saved us from that guy"
"Yeah" continued Cloud. "It seemed as if my wound disappeared with him. I don't understand though."
"Enough talk about that. We need to go to the observatory. There is something important you all should see. Climb on"
Red, Tifa and Cloud climbed onto the raft and Red's tail began to involuntarily stroke the water bringing them closer to shore.
"Funny, this tail of mine is still acting up. I have tried to control it but it seems to have a mind of its own"
Cloud still found it funny that something that looked as fierce as Red XIII was actually quite gentle and intelligent, and was really only a teenager in terms of his own species.
"What did you mean by the 'greatest element of all'?" asked Tifa.
"It is far better than water, thunder, fire, or any other. The element of surprise"
Cloud and Tifa openly laughed at Red's comment, which had seemed to be a pretty good joke.
"Did I make a joke?"
Cloud decided he was too tired to give an explanation.
As the raft treaded waves and moved closer to shore, Cloud asked:
"So what have you been doing with yourself?"
"I decided to take Buganhagen's advice for once. He told me in a dream not to bother looking for him, that he would be gone for a while. He kept telling me instead just to look for the blue. I didn't know what he meant by it. He kept talking about 'the director of a general to a battlefield by the castle'. That was the strangest."
The boat landed at the beach and the party made their way towards Cosmo Canyon in the distant hills.
"And he said this in a dream?" asked Tifa.
"Yes." Red responded simply, putting his nose up to the sky and staring at the stars that were now forming. "Let us hurry so we can be at the observatory when the stars are at their brightest.
The party of three made their way through the green and brown grass and up the hills that eventually gave way to the high reddish canyon that was Cosmo Canyon. The usual guard that would give the report on the maximum capacity had left his post for some reason. Cloud and Tifa followed Red up the many ladders and through the few buildings in the way of the observatory. Right outside the passageway, Red turned and said:
"What you see and hear may shock you, but do not worry, none of it seems as if it can make any ties into this world."
The couple exchanged worried glances as they contemplated what kind of thing could make Red give such a warning.
When the door was opened, all but Red let down their mouths in awe at what they saw before them. A blue portal, oval in shape, that filled the whole portion of the room under which Buganhagen had given them the demonstration of Mako's effects.
Stupid Chocobo! I can't believe you crashed into a tree!
Wark! Wark!
Now I have to carry Yuna the rest of the way while you "rest"!
"What was that?" asked Tifa worriedly.
Red thought for a minute, and then turned to face her.
"I'm not quite sure. Bits and pieces of conversation and other pieces of the outside world have been coming in here through this opening. It seems to be centered on a boy. The first communications I received from him often chronicled him trying to transport his girlfriend, but the details are unclear."
Cloud adjusted his stance so that he was leaning on the wall.
"Are you planning on going through? Why not just go to the other side?"
"I have no idea what could be waiting for me, and besides, I don't even know if I have a way of getting back once I go in."
"Good point. . . "
"Have you tried sticking anything inside? Maybe just a peek?" asked Tifa.
"I tried putting a twig in halfway, but the moment it hit the portal, it simply went in completely. Simply making contact with this opening takes you in"
"There must be a reason its here" Cloud pointed out "maybe we should gather up the others and try and go inside"
"That would be a good idea, but I think its best that after that's done we only go one at a time. If the other one doesn't return, then going in would be a good idea"
"Alright then. Should we get Cid first? He seems to have the best method of transportation"
Cloud remembered how Cid had flown the Highwind back to Rocket town and boasted to everyone about how he had such a great ship at his disposal.
"Actually. . . "
The door opened and Cid Highwind himself stepped through the door.
"Hey Red, I finished repairing those pipes you've been yappin' about. It turned out that a chocobo had been gnawing on the bottom!"
***
In a small grove of trees near Alexandria, a man lay out in the sun, waiting for a chance to try and go somewhere safe without being detected. Of course, he could have simply flown but his dragon was nowhere to be found and he would certainly face capture if he was found out looking for it.
Kuja stood up and stretched out his legs, not surprised as the bones cracked from being in the same position for so long. He had heard a thud but had been too lazy and too cautious to investigate it, but when he saw a futuristic looking building that he knew held technology that not even the greatest scientist of Gaia had discovered, he decided to take a look.
It had been a couple of months since Zidane had rescued him from that Iifa tree.
Kuja, you'll be all right!
. . .
Kuja!?
. . .
You can't be dead!
. . . I wish I was. Just leave me here.
NO!
Haven't we been over this? I don't deserve to live.
But you deserve a second chance!
. . .
Zidane had went out of his way to take Kuja and ride the way out of that massive exaggeration of growth, but he somehow had made it through with both lives intact, and had given him strict instructions.
A lot of people hate you, and will hunt you down if they think you're still alive. You're strong enough to survive on your own, so do it. Stay away from populated places. If you ever need me, then cast a Flare spell at the top of the castle's main spires. I'll know its you.
\. . . Castle spires?
I'm going back to Alexandria. Try to stay out of trouble, because you can be forgiven. Everyone deserves another chance at life, no matter what they have done.
. . .
Kuja still didn't believe he deserved another chance, but would jump at the opportunity to go to a place where no one knew him and just start over. Maybe the strange building could be salvation. If not, he would rather be captured than live this boring life a minute longer.
The Terran made his way to the building in the ground, his silverish tail slinging behind him, no longer trying to hide it. He still wore his outfit, but kept a cloak over his body for fear of being immediately recognized. Besides, even if these people were new to Gaia, he didn't want to give them the wrong impression. And he would have to kill them if they called him a female. Even more if they called him a cross-dresser.
For the first time, Kuja came out in open light in an open field, away from the protection of the forest, and towards his goal.
The structure he saw was blue, white, and yellow. It seemed to be built upwards with many oddly shaped rings of blue and white, with a large yellow pointed structure coming in from the top. He also notice yellow rings that rotated under the whole structure, and intricate designs with a few windows. If there were windows, then it must have been for the residence of people.
Kuja contemplated that maybe this could be an escaped ship from Terra, but then decided that Terran technology was far more advanced, and they certainly wouldn't have landed with a "thud".
As he approached the massive structure, it was noted that it was even larger than he had originally perceived. He was actually a little excited to see what would meet him at the end of his journey.
Finally, Kuja walked up to what seemed to be an odd rectangular opening in the side of the structure. Only the corner of it was to the ground, and it was slightly tilted, so the Terran found himself scrambling on the lateral intersection between what was originally the wall and what was originally the floor.
At first, he thought that the place would be empty, but two young-looking boys guarding each side of what must have been the main entrance.
"Identify yourself!" one requested. He and his accompany were dressed in blue uniforms with a black and white logo on the shoulder that slightly resembled a yin-yang.
"I am. . . Kuja" he responded, a little afraid that he was busted at the mention of his name. He was relieved when they blinked as though they had never heard of him.
"Should we let him in?" boy number one asked to boy number two.
"I'll go clear it with command" responded boy number two. "You wait here"
"He'll be back shortly, just sit tight in the meantime" responded number one as number two struggled through to the main entrance that wasn't as tilted as the secondary.
Kuja was actually surprised that they were being so generous to him. He had actually expected hostility, because he had been so used to it. It was also hard to believe that they would let just anyone in with a little clearance.
"Do you have a name?" Kuja asked the boy. He seemed to be caught off guard.
"Yes. My name is Dreda. My ID# is 546983."
Kuja wondered for a second why he would bother giving an identification number.
"Are you a student?"
Dreda adjusted his position in the funny angle of the entrance hall.
"Yeah. This place trains us to fight, usually for money. Are you from around here?"
"I have been here for a while, but I am originally from Terra. This planet is called Gaia"
"Gaia huh? I guess I have some new info to report. I'd report it, but someone has to stay here. I'll wait till Mike gets back.
Kuja wondered why he was giving information so freely like it didn't matter. He guessed that he had no reason to want to withhold any because he really didn't have anything to lose anymore.
"You can stay here, if you want. You don't seem to have anywhere else to go"
"You can tell?"
"That cloak looks pretty tattered"
And he was right. There was certainly quite a bit of "old" on his cloak.
"Thank you very much. I'm trying to get a new start"
"Well, as long as you're willing to tell us what you know about this place before we head out, okay?"
"Sure"
After a few more minutes, Mike returned and told Dreda that he had clearance to enter.
"Mike, can you take over? I wanna report something to the commander. I also may want to show this guy around"
"What? I guess. But don't be gone to long. . . "
"He doesn't like being left alone to long" Dreda whispered to Kuja as they walked into the hall, where the scenery changed abruptly.
"I HEARD THAT!"
Perhaps things were looking up after all. . .
________________________________________________________________________
AN: This chapter is slightly shorter, but give my a break! It aint easy typing all this. Also, I got a positive review from a fellow author, and I wanted to thank him and all the other people that have read and reviewed, even if the reviews were negative! Also, I may write a Kingdom Hearts fic when I'm further into this one, so be on the lookout when I finish chapter 5 or so!
By Blue Dragon
Beta the great. Number two in this complex maze. His arrogance will kill him.
"Who the. . . ?" Cloud stared in awe at the warrior before him. Who could attack him without knowing, and furthermore stop the engine of a boat with his fist? This wasn't like anyone he had fought before, save Sephiroth.
"I told you, I am Alpha. I come from a place dedicated to good, the eradication of fiends like you, and eventually that scoundrel Oren himself. You are but one of the flies. And you even teamed up with Sephiroth!"
"What are you talking about?", exclaimed Tifa, moving from her stationary position. She stood up and strapped on the Premium Hearts. This guy didn't seem like he was in the mood for more talking.
"Your Sephiroth's little girl, right?"
"You don't seem to get it!" Cloud clutched the hilt of his sword until his knuckles began to crack.
"Sephiroth is dead, and we killed him. Not only that, but we hate him! Why would we ally with him, after all he has taken, and what he tried to take?"
"FILTHY LIARS! YOU LIE EVEN IN THE FACE OF DEATH" Alpha simply roared in anger. With one swoop, he leaned back and did a punch at Mach 2 straight for Cloud, a sneer on his face.
Cloud felt the impact crush his chest as he felt the power of the blow. He thought one thing in his mind:
No one can be that strong!
Tifa, having fought with Cloud much before, didn't contemplate his condition. Her love had withstood much more than that. Instead, she did a punch of her own, rushing her fists in three solid blows to make contact with Alpha's exposed side. Her expected pleasure turned to agony when she felt her bones shatter on contact, with ribs harder than titanium alloy.
"Ahhh!", she screamed, half in surprise, half in pain.
"You expect to even dent a man that can punch two times faster than the speed of sound?"
Seemingly with his mind the bearer of the arrogant voice knocked Tifa into oblivion, a.k.a. the broken boards next to Cloud.
"Die!"
With a sharp descent of his blade, Alpha sent a knife into Cloud's chest, as Tifa watched in a state of absolute shock.
A normal woman would have become overwhelmed. But Tifa was battle hardened. Because of that, she knew that Mr. Mach punch had made a grave mistake.
***
"Friend of Kuja?", the queen repeated, half in awe, half in depression at being struck with that name again.
"Dagger?" Zidane went down on one knee to see her sitting as if weakened on the carpet.
"How can anyone say that? After all the pain, the turmoil? What have we done that would give us such a title, to say we are friends to the man who. . . " She stopped speaking, not able to think about such a nasty picture. She felt the nightmares returning.
"Get me a medic!" yelled the king. The soldiers guarding the door were hesitant to obey, but when the sight of their fellow soldier greeted them, they immediately complied. Yet another great perception of Alexandrians, the soldiers were light and easy to carry. The captain put her comrade on her soldier and tread of to the medic in the central castle.
"Dagger, can you fight?"
The young female slowly shook her head.
"What if he's out there? I'll freeze. . . "
"That guy clearly stated he was against Kuja, even if he thinks he's with us."
"Please, just give me time. Don't make me. . . "
"It's okay, I'll go. And I'll be back, so don't worry. I have to fight with the soldiers, so stay safe, okay?"
"I can do that."
Zidane stood up and opened the golden safe right by the window. Out he pulled the Ultima Weapon, branded by experts as the strongest weapon of its kind.
"I will be back!"
With that, Zidane jumped out of the window, somersaulted, and landed on the grass with a dozen soldiers, the Pluto Knights, and surprisingly, the great General Beatrix. Thirty yards away was the seventy-foot portal, and in front of it, a dark-skinned man with eyes of pure white, matching flowing clothes and boots, and cold ice-blue hair. The one the soldier called "Beta".
"Beatrix?!", asked Zidane, surprised that the general wasn't patrolling the outside of the city in her usual rounds.
"Some force moved me to come here. He said he was with the movement of the boat."
"The movement of the boat. . . ?"
"I don't know either, but if he directed me to this, then he must be on my side"
"What are you morons jabbering about?" asked Beta, arms crossed over chest. "If you're talking about some force, then It must be Oren, but enough about that. You and you're evil friends have plagued this world long enough. Prepare for your end!"
With that, the stranger lifted a hand and sent the dozen soldiers and four Pluto Knights into the wall, making sickening thuds and large cracks.
The stronger ones of the group, which were the other five Knights, Steiner, Beatrix, and Zidane withstood the blow and stood in battle positions.
"State your business at the castle!" exclaimed Steiner in his booming and usually proud voice.
"We are NOT in alliance with Kuja, why do you accuse us?" added Zidane a little more reasonably.
"Allow me to explain, I am from the squadron of Pyros himself to exterminate you all for all you took, and your friends as well, there are others that. . . "
"Is the intruder thinking of ceasing a report?" asked Zidane, half sarcastically.
"The INTRUDER is pondering why he's explaining himself to the enemy!" Beta roared.
"The INTRUDER is going to blow you and your evil squadron out of this world, Spira!"
"Spira?" Beatrix spoke up. "We know not of a Spira. This is Gaia"
"Spira, Gaia, what's the difference? The destruction of any of the two is fine with me. Now die!"
With that Beta reeled back a fist and pummeled the remaining defenders into the walls with yet another more powerful sonic wave.
***
"Yuna!" Tidus broke the barrier of water once again, and saw that the one he had longed to hold had passed out at the sight of him.
"Yuna." Tidus climbed onto the dock and pulled Yuna into his arms. She was just the way he had left her. And she had even been whistling for him to come back.
What a girl! Thought Tidus.
He padded clumsily along the dock, getting used to walking again. Night was falling in the Luca stadium, and everyone was out.
"Mister Tidus?"
"Huh?" Tidus turned around to see a little girl holding a familiar sword.
"I found this, is it yours?"
"Why yes! Thanks a lot kid! How'd ya know?"
"My mommy said you were a really good man, and that you found a sword like this and used it to beat Sin!"
"I appreciate it!" Tidus said, temporarily lowering Yuna to ruffle the girl's hair.
The stadium was pretty much deserted, so by the time Tidus got the gate with only two Luca soldiers, he wondered where he was going to go.
Tidus walked up to one of the soldiers and tapped the leather shoulder- guard he wore.
"Excuse me, but could you get an airship here?"
Tidus knew other airships were in production, but there was only one machina airship currently in use. That of his friends.
"Sir Tidus! Lady Yuna!" The guard immediately bowed.
"P-please, no need to bow. Could I just get the airship over here, please?"
"Yessir! They just happen to be docked at the Rin Travel Agency of the Mi'hen Highroad! Just take my chocobo"
"Thank you! You're a nice guy"
"No sir, think nothing of it. Anything for the savior of Spira"
With that, Tidus rode off on the chocobo with Yuna propped up on the back, contemplating how nice everyone was being, and the pleasure of riding in the warm night air through grasslands long deserted by the fiends that once plagued it, having the love of his life with him.
Tidus lifted his head into the air, and with a howl yelled:
"THANK YOU, BAHAMUT-KID! YOU HELPED MY MORE THAN ANYONE!"
Unfortunately this startled the chocobo, and in its carelessness it ran beak-first into a tree.
***
"Oh no!", yelled Nida.
Rinoa suddenly sat bolt upright, looking around as if nothing happened.
"Is Squall here yet?"
"Rinoa!" Squall launched himself around Rinoa, sobbing uncontrollably.
"I love you, I love you! I admitted it! Just don't punish me anymore!"
The tough commander of garden was now simply going to pieces. Did this make RINOA the most powerful of all?
"Rinoa, I can't believe you're awake! What happened?", inquired Irvine, immediately wide-eyed and disregarding Squall's rude comment about him.
"Was I asleep?" Rinoa asked, still oblivious to her previous condition.
"This must be a medical miracle. Not even Edea recovered this fast!", stated Dr. Kadowaki.
"What are you all talking about?!" Rinoa half asked, half exclaimed, while patting the back of poor Squall.
"Garden, this is Nida, pilot of Balamb Garden. We are being approached by an unidentified formation. We may be experiencing turbulence, so please find stable ground.
"Here it comes!" yelled Irvine.
The descending wave of blue made contact, the speed of its approach speeding up exponentially.
FWOOOMM!!
There was surprisingly no shaking, whatsoever, but a thud as the opening in the air disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared, and set the Balamb Garden flat on its bottom, in a green field atop a large cliff. To the left was a city of some sort that seemed medieval. A large castle rose in the middle of the city, and it seemed to rock slightly and temporarily glow blue. A mild concussion followed.
"Where are we?" asked Irvine after an awkward silence.
"Squall, get up!" Nida commanded, bringing Squall out of his great unison.
"What is it?" Rinoa stood up as well, smoothening her black and blue outfit.
"Squall, could go down there and see how people are reacting? Calm everyone down or we might end up in chaos"
"Right. Rinoa, stay close" she gladly complied as she followed Squall down the elevator and Nida, Dr. Kadowaki and Irvine began to ponder the situation.
"Students, please calm down!" Quistis tried to calm the junior and upper classmen who were in a loud commotion with each other discussing the past events. The occupants of the classroom were quiet, but Quistis knew it wouldn't last. What was that flash of blue and that sudden appearance in a new location?
Squall quickly burst into the room.
"Is everything alright?" he asked. It was plain that Quistis had everything under control.
"Students, it is vital that you remain calm" Squall pointed towards one student who seemed responsible "Echo, you watch the class. Quistis will be out shortly"
Quistis inquisitively turned her majestic azure eyes to meet Squall.
What is happening? She mouthed.
I don't know myself. Squall mouthed in response. The student named Echo stood up and took his place at the front of the class, as Quistis and Squall walked out, Rinoa waiting at the door.
"Quistis, could you find Selphie and meet back at the bridge? Rinoa and I will get Zell and try and figure out some sort of exploration plan."
"Yes sir!" Quistis gave a salute and immediately strode down to the elevator, voice-commanding it to move to the first floor.
Why does she still wear that uniform? Squall thought to himself.
***
Alpha's blade embedded itself in Cloud's chest, as his eyes widened at this newfound pain.
"You're dead now!" Alpha yelled in victory.
"His."
"What!?" Alpha looked towards Tifa.
"His heart is on the left, you moron!" yelled Tifa with renewed vigor.
Before the warrior had a chance to respond, a large orange figure pounced, pinning him to the ground and slightly tearing his ear.
Alpha immediately pushed the beast that was Nanaki, or Red XIII off of his chest and felt his ear.
"My perfect ear! HOW COULD YOU HURT SOMETHING SO BEAUTIFUL!?"
Amazingly, Alpha began to shed tears.
"You monsters! You killed my looks! You will pay!" With that, the warrior that was thought to be a worthy opponent disappeared in a flash leaving warm air in his wake, as the party of three stared wide-eyed.
"Did he just leave because he thought his looks were in jepordy!?", asked Cloud.
"Cloud! I thought I saw that that person had impaled you. Why is it that you speak as though unhurt?" asked Red, not even greeting his friend.
"Oh. Hello to you too Red."
"..My apologies. Cloud, Tifa, how have you been? I was on my raft awaiting your arrival. I noticed you were getting pummeled, so I waited till the greatest element of all presented itself."
"Thanks a lot Red" said Tifa. "You saved us from that guy"
"Yeah" continued Cloud. "It seemed as if my wound disappeared with him. I don't understand though."
"Enough talk about that. We need to go to the observatory. There is something important you all should see. Climb on"
Red, Tifa and Cloud climbed onto the raft and Red's tail began to involuntarily stroke the water bringing them closer to shore.
"Funny, this tail of mine is still acting up. I have tried to control it but it seems to have a mind of its own"
Cloud still found it funny that something that looked as fierce as Red XIII was actually quite gentle and intelligent, and was really only a teenager in terms of his own species.
"What did you mean by the 'greatest element of all'?" asked Tifa.
"It is far better than water, thunder, fire, or any other. The element of surprise"
Cloud and Tifa openly laughed at Red's comment, which had seemed to be a pretty good joke.
"Did I make a joke?"
Cloud decided he was too tired to give an explanation.
As the raft treaded waves and moved closer to shore, Cloud asked:
"So what have you been doing with yourself?"
"I decided to take Buganhagen's advice for once. He told me in a dream not to bother looking for him, that he would be gone for a while. He kept telling me instead just to look for the blue. I didn't know what he meant by it. He kept talking about 'the director of a general to a battlefield by the castle'. That was the strangest."
The boat landed at the beach and the party made their way towards Cosmo Canyon in the distant hills.
"And he said this in a dream?" asked Tifa.
"Yes." Red responded simply, putting his nose up to the sky and staring at the stars that were now forming. "Let us hurry so we can be at the observatory when the stars are at their brightest.
The party of three made their way through the green and brown grass and up the hills that eventually gave way to the high reddish canyon that was Cosmo Canyon. The usual guard that would give the report on the maximum capacity had left his post for some reason. Cloud and Tifa followed Red up the many ladders and through the few buildings in the way of the observatory. Right outside the passageway, Red turned and said:
"What you see and hear may shock you, but do not worry, none of it seems as if it can make any ties into this world."
The couple exchanged worried glances as they contemplated what kind of thing could make Red give such a warning.
When the door was opened, all but Red let down their mouths in awe at what they saw before them. A blue portal, oval in shape, that filled the whole portion of the room under which Buganhagen had given them the demonstration of Mako's effects.
Stupid Chocobo! I can't believe you crashed into a tree!
Wark! Wark!
Now I have to carry Yuna the rest of the way while you "rest"!
"What was that?" asked Tifa worriedly.
Red thought for a minute, and then turned to face her.
"I'm not quite sure. Bits and pieces of conversation and other pieces of the outside world have been coming in here through this opening. It seems to be centered on a boy. The first communications I received from him often chronicled him trying to transport his girlfriend, but the details are unclear."
Cloud adjusted his stance so that he was leaning on the wall.
"Are you planning on going through? Why not just go to the other side?"
"I have no idea what could be waiting for me, and besides, I don't even know if I have a way of getting back once I go in."
"Good point. . . "
"Have you tried sticking anything inside? Maybe just a peek?" asked Tifa.
"I tried putting a twig in halfway, but the moment it hit the portal, it simply went in completely. Simply making contact with this opening takes you in"
"There must be a reason its here" Cloud pointed out "maybe we should gather up the others and try and go inside"
"That would be a good idea, but I think its best that after that's done we only go one at a time. If the other one doesn't return, then going in would be a good idea"
"Alright then. Should we get Cid first? He seems to have the best method of transportation"
Cloud remembered how Cid had flown the Highwind back to Rocket town and boasted to everyone about how he had such a great ship at his disposal.
"Actually. . . "
The door opened and Cid Highwind himself stepped through the door.
"Hey Red, I finished repairing those pipes you've been yappin' about. It turned out that a chocobo had been gnawing on the bottom!"
***
In a small grove of trees near Alexandria, a man lay out in the sun, waiting for a chance to try and go somewhere safe without being detected. Of course, he could have simply flown but his dragon was nowhere to be found and he would certainly face capture if he was found out looking for it.
Kuja stood up and stretched out his legs, not surprised as the bones cracked from being in the same position for so long. He had heard a thud but had been too lazy and too cautious to investigate it, but when he saw a futuristic looking building that he knew held technology that not even the greatest scientist of Gaia had discovered, he decided to take a look.
It had been a couple of months since Zidane had rescued him from that Iifa tree.
Kuja, you'll be all right!
. . .
Kuja!?
. . .
You can't be dead!
. . . I wish I was. Just leave me here.
NO!
Haven't we been over this? I don't deserve to live.
But you deserve a second chance!
. . .
Zidane had went out of his way to take Kuja and ride the way out of that massive exaggeration of growth, but he somehow had made it through with both lives intact, and had given him strict instructions.
A lot of people hate you, and will hunt you down if they think you're still alive. You're strong enough to survive on your own, so do it. Stay away from populated places. If you ever need me, then cast a Flare spell at the top of the castle's main spires. I'll know its you.
\. . . Castle spires?
I'm going back to Alexandria. Try to stay out of trouble, because you can be forgiven. Everyone deserves another chance at life, no matter what they have done.
. . .
Kuja still didn't believe he deserved another chance, but would jump at the opportunity to go to a place where no one knew him and just start over. Maybe the strange building could be salvation. If not, he would rather be captured than live this boring life a minute longer.
The Terran made his way to the building in the ground, his silverish tail slinging behind him, no longer trying to hide it. He still wore his outfit, but kept a cloak over his body for fear of being immediately recognized. Besides, even if these people were new to Gaia, he didn't want to give them the wrong impression. And he would have to kill them if they called him a female. Even more if they called him a cross-dresser.
For the first time, Kuja came out in open light in an open field, away from the protection of the forest, and towards his goal.
The structure he saw was blue, white, and yellow. It seemed to be built upwards with many oddly shaped rings of blue and white, with a large yellow pointed structure coming in from the top. He also notice yellow rings that rotated under the whole structure, and intricate designs with a few windows. If there were windows, then it must have been for the residence of people.
Kuja contemplated that maybe this could be an escaped ship from Terra, but then decided that Terran technology was far more advanced, and they certainly wouldn't have landed with a "thud".
As he approached the massive structure, it was noted that it was even larger than he had originally perceived. He was actually a little excited to see what would meet him at the end of his journey.
Finally, Kuja walked up to what seemed to be an odd rectangular opening in the side of the structure. Only the corner of it was to the ground, and it was slightly tilted, so the Terran found himself scrambling on the lateral intersection between what was originally the wall and what was originally the floor.
At first, he thought that the place would be empty, but two young-looking boys guarding each side of what must have been the main entrance.
"Identify yourself!" one requested. He and his accompany were dressed in blue uniforms with a black and white logo on the shoulder that slightly resembled a yin-yang.
"I am. . . Kuja" he responded, a little afraid that he was busted at the mention of his name. He was relieved when they blinked as though they had never heard of him.
"Should we let him in?" boy number one asked to boy number two.
"I'll go clear it with command" responded boy number two. "You wait here"
"He'll be back shortly, just sit tight in the meantime" responded number one as number two struggled through to the main entrance that wasn't as tilted as the secondary.
Kuja was actually surprised that they were being so generous to him. He had actually expected hostility, because he had been so used to it. It was also hard to believe that they would let just anyone in with a little clearance.
"Do you have a name?" Kuja asked the boy. He seemed to be caught off guard.
"Yes. My name is Dreda. My ID# is 546983."
Kuja wondered for a second why he would bother giving an identification number.
"Are you a student?"
Dreda adjusted his position in the funny angle of the entrance hall.
"Yeah. This place trains us to fight, usually for money. Are you from around here?"
"I have been here for a while, but I am originally from Terra. This planet is called Gaia"
"Gaia huh? I guess I have some new info to report. I'd report it, but someone has to stay here. I'll wait till Mike gets back.
Kuja wondered why he was giving information so freely like it didn't matter. He guessed that he had no reason to want to withhold any because he really didn't have anything to lose anymore.
"You can stay here, if you want. You don't seem to have anywhere else to go"
"You can tell?"
"That cloak looks pretty tattered"
And he was right. There was certainly quite a bit of "old" on his cloak.
"Thank you very much. I'm trying to get a new start"
"Well, as long as you're willing to tell us what you know about this place before we head out, okay?"
"Sure"
After a few more minutes, Mike returned and told Dreda that he had clearance to enter.
"Mike, can you take over? I wanna report something to the commander. I also may want to show this guy around"
"What? I guess. But don't be gone to long. . . "
"He doesn't like being left alone to long" Dreda whispered to Kuja as they walked into the hall, where the scenery changed abruptly.
"I HEARD THAT!"
Perhaps things were looking up after all. . .
________________________________________________________________________
AN: This chapter is slightly shorter, but give my a break! It aint easy typing all this. Also, I got a positive review from a fellow author, and I wanted to thank him and all the other people that have read and reviewed, even if the reviews were negative! Also, I may write a Kingdom Hearts fic when I'm further into this one, so be on the lookout when I finish chapter 5 or so!